Determinants of Rural Dwellers Participation in Forest Resources Exploitation and Management in Southern Cross River State, Nigeria.

Abstract

The thrust of this study was to examine the Determinants of rural dwellers participation in forest resources exploitation and management in Southern Cross River State, Nigeria. To achieve the purpose of this study, five hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Literature review was carried out accordingly. Survey research design was adopted for the study. A sample of seven hundred and eighty-six (556) youths was used for the study. The sample was selected through the multi-stage sampling approach involving stratified random sampling technique and accidental sampling techniques. The instruments tagged: Determinants of Rural Dwellers Participation in Forest Resources Exploitation and Management Questionnaire (DRDPFREMQ) was the instrument used for data collection. The instrument was subjected to face validation by one expert from Environmental Education and two experts in measurement and evaluation in the Faculty of Education, University of Calabar. The reliability estimate of the instruments was established through Cronbach Alpha reliability method. One Way analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Independent t-test analysis were the statistical technique employed to test the hypotheses under study. Each hypothesis was tested at .05 level of significance. The result of the analysis revealed that, the variables rural dwellers gender, age, educational status, income level and attitude significantly influenced influence participation in forest exploitation and management in Calabar Education Zone of Cross River State, Nigeria. Based on the findings of the study it was recommended that government should put in place a sustainable governance structure in the forests communities for a conducive and friendly environment that will ease the burden of the women, being the most vulnerable.